"Our rule is that warriors are strictly prohibited from boarding the ship."
Shirotaro added as he held the small banjin that Ogata had just thrown to him as if it were something fragile.
"So if you don't mind hiding your sword and disguising yourself as a civilian, you can indeed get on board."
"But remember not to reveal your identity as a samurai after you board the ship, otherwise both you and I will be in trouble..."
"We have many hired guards on our ship who are responsible for ensuring the safety of the ship."
"Although I won't kill you or throw you off the boat, I will definitely teach you a lesson for not following the rules."
As soon as Shirotaro finished speaking , Oben said without hesitation:
"No problem, I can hide my saber and disguise myself as a civilian."
"As for the issue of my identity being exposed, please rest assured. As I just said, I am not a warrior with a problem in my head. I will never cause trouble on the ship. I will stay on board obediently until I get off the ship."
As a time traveler, Ogata is naturally not the kind of "mad warrior" who does not allow his sword to be touched by others and must always wear his sword around his waist when going out.
For Ogata, hiding his sword and disguising himself as a civilian was not something unbearable.
"In that case, then pay the money," Shirotaro said. "The smuggling fee is 20 taels of silver per person. The landing point is a secret port in the Oshu region."
"We just happen to have a ship leaving in 3 days."
"Now pay the money and wait patiently for three days. Come back to us in the morning of three days and we will take you to the boat."
"Then, after another five or six days of sailing on the sea, you will reach the Japanese mainland."
As Shirotaro finished speaking, Obe suddenly continued:
"Can your smuggling boat carry horses in addition to people?"
"Ah? Horse?" Shirotaro's eyes widened.
"Yes, that's right, horses," Ogata said. "We have two horses, and if possible, we would like to take them back. If your ship can carry horses, the price is negotiable."
The two horses that Ogata was referring to were naturally radish and grapes.
It is quite inconvenient to bring horses into the city, so Ogata and his companions now hide the radishes and grapes somewhere on the outskirts of Matsumae Castle.
These two horses have accompanied Ogata and Atachi for quite some time. Radish and Ogata have a life-and-death friendship. During the battle with the shogunate army, it was Radish who carried Ogata into the battle.
Therefore, Ogata did not want to abandon these two horses unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Horses... Our ships can indeed carry horses, cows and other livestock. We have also had experience in transporting livestock many times. But... the price is not cheap." Shirotaro said in a tentative tone, "If you want to transport horses, give us your horses the day after tomorrow and we will load your horses on the ship in advance. The freight is 70 silver per horse."
Seeing that their boat could carry horses, Ogata secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As for the expensive shipping fee that Shirotaro mentioned...
"If you can carry horses, then everything is fine. Can you help take care of our horses while we carry them across the sea? You just need to help us feed them on time and clean up their feces."
"That's fine...but it'll cost extra."
Ogata did not say anything to respond to Shirotaro's words.
He just silently took out the purse filled with a large sum of money from his arms...
Ogata, who now has enough savings to last him and Atachi a lifetime, doesn't take the money seriously at all.
…
…
That evening——
Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Castle, inside a certain hotel——
"Ah... it's tatami..."
As soon as she entered the room, Atachi leaned forward and lay on the soft tatami in a "spread-over" position.
"It's still more comfortable lying on the tatami..."
Atachi pressed her body tightly against the tatami, as if she wanted to merge her entire body with the tatami.
"It seems... the news of the shogunate army's defeat has really been blocked." Ogata sighed in a low voice as he took off the sword from his waist, held the sword and sat by the window.
After paying the money and coming out of Sadaie-ya, since it was still early, Ogata and Atachi decided to stroll around the Japanese society after a long absence.
On the one hand, it is to kill time, and on the other hand, it is to find out about the current "hot news".
After all, they have been away from the Japanese society for too long. During this time, some "big news" might have happened in Japan that is worth understanding.
The two of them strolled from day to night, and after inquiring about some information, judging from the final result, they gained a lot - after strolling around most of Matsumae Castle, they gained two things.
The first gain: While they were dealing with the wind and snow in Ezo, nothing major seemed to be happening on the Japanese mainland.
The second gain: The news of the shogunate army’s defeat in the attack on the Red Moon Fortress seemed to have been blocked.
Matsumae Castle was still peaceful and prosperous. Ogata asked many people about the "Shogunate Army's Expedition" and found that almost no one knew how the Shogunate Army was fighting against the Red Moon Fortress.
Normally, after such a long time, the news of the shogunate army's defeat should have spread throughout the Matsumae domain, and the news of the defeat should have spread widely in mainland Japan as well.
However, the people of Matsumae Castle had no idea that the shogunate army had been defeated.
The only clear explanation is that the shogunate deliberately blocked the news.
Ogata was very understanding of the shogunate's move to block the news.
After all, this war ended with the shogunate's disastrous defeat.
Not only did they fail to achieve the strategic goal of capturing the Red Moon Fortress, but they also suffered heavy casualties.
The culprit behind their disastrous defeat was Ogata Ittosai, who had repeatedly brought shame to the shogunate.
No matter from which angle you look at it, the shogunate must do its utmost to cover up this vicious scandal. The longer it can be covered up, the better it will be for the shogunate.
"The defeat of an army of 10,000 - such a big scandal, even if we do our best to block the news, it is definitely impossible to keep it secret forever." At this time, Atachi sat up from the tatami and smiled slyly, "I'm really curious... If the world knew that Ogata Ittosai had defeated the shogunate army after killing the tyrant and conquering Nijo Castle, what would the world's reaction be?"
"I will probably be regarded as a traitor to the country by those loyal supporters of the shogunate ," Ogata continued in a half-joking tone, "I'm actually more curious about how much my bounty will increase when the news can no longer be blocked..."
"It doesn't matter how much you raise the price," A-Ming said. "I don't think any bounty hunter will want to take your head anymore."
After saying that, Atachi lay back down on the tatami again.
"The ship won't leave until three days later...Ayi, how are we going to spend the next three days?"
"How else can we spend our time? Let's just spend it leisurely." Ogata answered without hesitation, "We have been busy these days."
"In order to find Xuan Zheng and Xuan Zhi, I first came to the Red Moon Fortress by mistake, and then got involved in the war without knowing why."
"After the war, we headed north to Kanto Village. After finally finding Xuanzhi, we didn't stop at all, and then headed south all the way back to Matsumae Castle."
Recalling the experiences of the past few months, Ogata couldn't help but sigh.
"To be honest: I have been too busy these past few months, and I feel a little tired both physically and mentally..."
"So - let's treat these three days as a holiday and have a good rest."
"Then take a good rest for three days..." A-Machi agreed softly, "What are you going to do when you return to mainland Japan? Are you going to go straight to Koyasan in Kansai?"
"No." Ogata shook his head. "I plan to find a skilled swordsmith to help me repair the sword first."
Ogata slowly unsheathed the Daishakuten in his arms.
Looking at the now broken blade of Daishiten, Ogata said slowly:
"Next... I will probably have to face the mastermind behind the research on 'immortality'."
"Since they are able to organize such a large-scale 'immortality' experiment, it means that their power is definitely not small."
"If a fierce conflict breaks out with them... I'm afraid we won't be able to fight with the currently damaged Great Instan and Great Freedom."
"I'm used to these two knives. And it's not easy to find a good replacement."
"So - in order to prepare for the future, I plan to repair my sword after returning to mainland Japan."
"Find a swordsmith to repair the knife...but where can we find a good swordsmith?" asked Ating.
"At this time—" Ogata slowly smiled, "I have to ask friends for help."
"After returning to mainland Japan, let's go to Owari first."
"Owari?" A-Machi realized something and widened his eyes slightly. "Are you going to ask the people from Huluya for help?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded. "The connections in the Gourd House are extensive. If we ask them for help, we might be able to find a swordsmith capable of repairing Daishiten and Daijizai."
"If you want to go to Kansai, Owari is a must-go place."
"So - before heading to Koyasan, let's ask Huluya for help and see if they know any good swordsmiths."
After saying this, Ogata slowly put the Great Shakuten back into the sheath.
…
…
Three days passed quickly.
After enjoying the long-lost leisure time, Ogata and his friends came to Dingjiangya again in the early morning of the third day.
Earlier yesterday, Obe had given them radishes and grapes according to Shirotaro's previous instructions, and asked them to load the horses on the ship in advance.
As soon as they arrived at Dingjiang House, they were invited to the second floor to wait for a while.
Not long after, they were taken out of Dingjiang House and taken to the coast where their smuggling boat was.
It is not far from Matsumae Castle to the coast where the smuggling boat is located. We set out early in the morning, and before noon, we smelled the unique salty smell of the ocean. Then we saw a flat coastline with a large ship docked beside the coast.
There are now quite a few people standing on the coast near the big ship. These people are of different ages, and there are about 30 of them. The only thing in common among these 30 people is that they do not have swords on their waists.
Ogata guessed that these people should be illegal immigrants like him and Atachi, and they were all preparing to take this illegal immigrant ship to mainland Japan.
As he slowly walked towards the group of people waiting to board the ship, Ogata turned his head and whispered to Atachi beside him:
"A-Machi, remember not to call me by the wrong name next time. I am Merchant Goro now."
A-machi nodded vigorously and answered Ogata with her actions.
Ogata no longer had his sword on his waist - Daishakuten and Daishizai had both been removed and placed together with other luggage, wrapped tightly with cloth, and carried on Ogata's back.
Because the two knives were placed together with other messy luggage and wrapped tightly with cloth, it was difficult to tell from the outside that there were two knives in the cloth bag.
In order to perfectly conceal his identity as a samurai, Ogata had already established a new and complete personality for himself.
He is a merchant who specializes in selling Yezo goods: Goro. He and his wife, A-machi, are both from Kansai. Two years ago, because he thought selling Yezo goods would be profitable, he brought his wife to Matsumae and opened a "Yozoo goods specialty store".
But unfortunately, due to his limited ability and the bad times, the store's profits kept declining, so he decided to sell the store and return to his hometown in Kansai with all his belongings to seek further development.
As for the two horses, Radish and Grape, they were bought with the money from selling the store. They were going to give them as gifts to their horse-loving father-in-law after returning home.
Ogata also created a completely new character for Atachi - the daughter of a landlord in Kansai who particularly loves horses.
Just to please his father-in-law, he bought these two horses at a high price and brought them back to Japan to present them to him.
From a logical point of view, Ogata's entire character design is impeccable and there are no major loopholes to be found.
Ogata and his companions stood on the shore with other stowaways for a long time.
It was almost noon when the smuggling boat was finally ready to set sail and allowed Ogata and his party to board.
This ship has 2 floors of cabins.
The first level of the cabin is where the crew and stowaways like Ogata live.
The second-floor cabin seemed to have been used to store various sundries, but now a large space had been cleared out to store radishes and grapes.
As soon as he got on the ship, Xu Fang went to the cabin on the bottom floor to check on the condition of the two horses. The two horses were Don horses that had crossed the sea with the Cossacks to Ezo. They were not unfamiliar with or afraid of the ocean, so the two horses were in very good condition now.
After confirming the status of Radish and Grape, Xu Fang returned to the cabin where the stowaways were staying.
As soon as he returned to the cabin, he saw several crew members standing in the middle of the cabin, shouting loudly: "Ready to sail! Ready to sail! Hold on tight!"
When it comes to boat riding, Ogata and A-machi are no longer novices who have never been on a boat before.
Before the boat started, Ating lay flat on the ground very obediently.
And Ogata sat next to Atachi.
The former was very self-aware in preparing for the impending seasickness.
The latter was very conscious and prepared to take care of the seasick Ating...
"Taking a boat and stuff like that... is so annoying..." After saying that, Atachi closed his eyes as if he had accepted his fate.
"Be patient." Ogata stroked A-Machi's hair with a wry smile.
Not long after the crew members loudly reminded that the ship was about to set sail, the ship under Ogata and his crew began to move slowly.
The large ship docked at the shore slowly sailed away from the coast and disappeared towards the distant horizon.
As we got further away from the coast, the ship rocked more and more violently.
Ating's face became paler and paler due to seasickness.
Just then——
Clang.
Suddenly, a pleasant piano sound rang out.
When the sound of the piano was heard, Ogata was stunned at first, then turned his head to look in the direction where the sound came from.
At the end of the direction where the sound of the piano came from, there was a petite girl with a beautiful appearance holding a pipa.